Competative Season Question for Mike

[John Broderick]

hey mike... question about your ultra training plan. i think this may be on other's minds also.
Specifically on the bike... tomorrow's workout (Competative season week 1), includes a bike main set of 2 x 15min at 84-92%. as i'm trying to improve my bike this time around, i have this question...
is the HR the most important part of this workout?

i could go out, and climb skyline drive, going 5MPH with a HR of 170+, 15 min up, repeat again, and go home. i'll be going very slow, but my HR will be up.
but if i go out and try to time trial on a flat or rolling course, i can't imagine that i would be able to keep my HR up that high for 15 minutes straight. my speed and distance will be much higher, and my exertion or effort will feel higher... but my HR will probably not quite be there.

or should i split... climb for 1 repeat, and then TT for the second?(maybe the HR will be higher for the 2nd)

any thoughts on this are appreciated... just over 3 months till IMLP!

[Mike Llerandi]

Hey John,

A significant amount of bike work during the week is structured, and as such it might make the most sense to do this on the trainer -- that way you could control the intensity level a lot more consistently.

As you point out, taking these out on the open road presents its challenges, not only in terms of terrain, but also traffic, stop signs/lights, etc.

So, the optimal mix that I've found over the years is indoor rides during the week with longer outdoor rides on the weekends.

Hope that helps -- thanks,

Mike

[Mark Dabrowski]

John - a good question indeed. As the weather gets nicer and the days longer, I'm also tempted to get out more. In fact, last year I did. I really want to improve the bike too so this time around I'm taking Mike's advice and sticking to the trainer longer (or at least until it gets really warm). Besides controlling the intensity better I like the fact that I can just jump on and off the trainer w/o all the hassles of proper attire, worrying about darkness etc.

At least I've convinced myself of that anyway ;)

[Kim Pollock]

John, you bring up an excellent point that I have been wondering! While I am on the bike, indoor or outside, I am having a hard time getting my HR up to 84-92% without completely burning out my legs as I need to put it on a high tension, which means my cadence is extremely low. If my cadence is 90-95 then my HR is too low (70%). In this case, is it better to mimic hill climbing with a high tension and get my HR closer to 85% (while trying not to burn my legs out) or a higher cadence with a lower HR? Make sense? I think I experience this more after a tough workout the day before and my legs are fatigued.

Thanks!

[jake]

Mike, I appreciate the suggestion of riding the trainer for the higher intensity (in my case) tuesdays time trial high heart rate days.
But, I'm sure I'm no alone when i say that riding indoors on a 50 to 80 degree day with the sun shining is not going to work for me. I just can't get motivated unless i can get outside. Which do you recommend, hill repeats or just try to push harder on the flats? Any suggestions will be most appreciated (also thanks for the workout and everything Program has been difficult but extremely rewarding (or at least after the race i'll be saying that). thanks again.

[Mike Llerandi]

I mean mostly during the week, especially when you can schedule this for before work or after its almost dark...I don't like riding in traffic around here (Northern NJ), but sometimes at night it works -- but I've had much more success riding intervals indoors in a controlled setting.

Hope that helps clear things up...

-Mike

[John Broderick]

hey, well i started this thread so i'll speak up again....

personally, i go to work at 12noon. i can get out and bike anytime before then. everyone has different schedules, but if it is 70 degrees and sunny at 9:30am, there's no damn way i'm putting my bike on the trainer.
i have found a route that's working for me.... basically 2 "moderate" climbs that each take me about 10 minutes. i ride up stonetown road in ringwood, and then recover while i head up to east shore road (up to greenwood lake). i hammer those 2 sections, getting my HR up close to where it should be, all while getting the feel of the road, wind in my face, and hearing the stream go by next to me.
if i need more high HR work than that, i can generally elevate it on the way home, although it's mostly downhill, because of the previous 2 efforts.

i'm not a professional, i don't get paid for this, and i will never win a race. but i'm having damn fun working hard this year, and i'm really hoping that it pays off with a great finish time at lake placid!

any thoughts? i feel this was a good compromise between true hill workouts and flat TTs.